It doesn't get any better

than a quiet house after a busy day.

than a Sunday morning family wall to church.

than a bike ride with neighbors.

than a successful first birthday party.

than siblings giggling together over a favorite book.

than a sunny day spent at the ball fields and walking away with a win.

than having menus planned and groceries bought for the week by Monday morning.

than sweaty bouquets of dandelions turned into bracelets and rings.

than the first boat ride of the season ending safely ;)

than a warm evening walk with the ladies of the 'hood.

What tops your list? 

Kase's Birthday Party

It was the perfect day for a first birthday party.  The weather, which has been cold and gloomy, was sunny and warm on Saturday when we celebrated Kase turning one.  

He woke up to balloons in his room, followed shortly by Kael and Kylee running in his room to give him birthday hugs. 

It was a busy day, with the party squeezed in between Little League Opening Ceremonies and Kael's first game of the season, but we had plenty of time to make it a special day for the birthday boy! 

Kent and I gave him this truck, which he had fun pushing around. 

There were lots of hugs and kisses for Kase!

And of course, the obligatory, goofy first birthday hat that immediately gets pulled off. 

There were cakes that perfectly matched the party invitations There were decorations and a dressed-up sister.

There was food and family.

There were family photos.

There were gifts.

There were rides in new toys.

There was frosting on cute baby cheeks.

There was a tired, happy, sweet, innocent birthday boy!

Kase is ONE!

At one year old, Kase...

weighs 21 pounds 15 ounces which puts him in the 60%.

is 30 1/2 inches tall which puts him in the 80%.

has 4 teeth.

says Mom, ball, Dad, woof, no.

can point to a light.  (The ability to point is particularly notable to me because that was a skill Kael didn't have, which was one of the first clues about the autism.)

sleeps whenever he feels like it.

carries anything around the house that he can get his hands on.  Shoes, measuring cups, markers...anything!

loves his bottle more than any baby I've known. He calls it a "Boom".

eats anything and everything.

enjoys playing peek-a-boo.

turns every diaper change into a wrestling match.

eats anytime anyone else is eating.

loves to be outside and can totally hold his own on the trampoline.

has completely stolen my heart with his big, brown, innocent eyes.  He has such a sweet personality but can also be a charmer with his flirty smile.  He is so proud of himself when he completes a task and his throaty laugh is music to my ears. There is no greater sound in all the earth, especially when it's Kael or Kylee making him laugh.  I hope I never forget the way he says, "Hi Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" when I walk into his room to pick him up from a nap.  I hope I have captured enough video of him taking his quick little straight-legged steps.  And the cheeks.  Those cheeks! The ones that cause neighbor girls to swoon and make googly eyes at me through the tumbling window while I'm holding him.  Their eyes clearly saying, "I just want to pinch his cheeks!!!" His hair has the most handsome little curls in the back that turn into major curls when he's sweaty.  He has a go-with-the-flow attitude that is typical of third children that I am really grateful for.

Kase completes our family so perfectly.  He fills a void that I never even realize existed and even though we spent several years as a family of four, I can't imagine our lives without him.  We totally needed a Kaser.  Happy First Birthday, Kase!!!  I love you so much!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for our neighborhood.  Whoever said "money can't buy happiness" obviously didn't purchase a house in the right neighborhood.

I'm thankful there's only 23 days left of school.

I'm thankful that I get to stay home with my kids even when my after school babysitting kids ask me what I do for a real job and I tell them that I babysit and they say, "That's all? Like you don't leave the house in the mornings to go to work?"

I'm thankful that Kent and I agreed to have someone else do our landscaping. Time is money, folks. And time is a precious commodity around these parts.

I'm thankful I got Kylee and Kael registered for swimming lessons.  Locals, you know how cut throat that is, am I right?

I'm thankful for a nice run in the rain on Monday night.

I'm thankful for an amazing friend.  The other day when I was attempting to get my kids signed up for swimming lessons, my friend was experiencing the same troubles.  However, she had to leave her house to run her daughter to preschool so I stayed online since I was at home and successfully got her daughter registered for lessons.  As a thank you, she brought me over some of her world famous guacamole.  Totally made my night.

I'm thankful for PTO fundraisers at Cherry Berry.  Someone was seriously thinking when they planned this.  Hey, let's schedule a fundraiser at a fro-yo place close to our school and see if we can't get parents to take their kids out on a Monday night. And let's make sure the kids know about it so they beg their parents to go. Fifteen of us from our street alone were there! YUM.

I'm thankful for a visit from Governor Brandstad to the Ashland Ridge second graders.  So cool!

I'm thankful for another super fun birthday weekend ahead!!!

I'm REALLY thankful for my personal assistant Mom because without her none of the fun ideas I have for birthdays would become a reality.  My house would be a mess, the laundry would never get folded and I would constantly be out of groceries.  I would have to take sleepy (read: grumpy) kids along with me to run errands.  Seriously I could not have made it through this crazy, fun month without her help!

I'm equally thankful for my mother-in-law Cindy who has graciously offered to come early Saturday morning to help out with last minute party prep and watch Kase so I can go to Opening Ceremonies for Little League.  Also I think she's going to pick up the cake and balloons for me although I'm not sure she knows it yet.  ;) You're the best, Cindy!!!

The last 30th birthday celebration. I promise.

Saturday we celebrated my birthday with Keith and Cindy.  I am the luckiest girl in the world.  My in-laws are so fun! We spent the day enjoying the warm weather- they helped us while Kent seeded the yard, and we went for bike rides, and we jumped on the trampoline and it was awesome.  Later in the afternoon I surprised Cindy with pedicure appointments for her birthday (which is today- Happy Birthday Cindy!!!!) so she, Kylee and I went to get our nails done.  It was such a fun girl's afternoon.

Later in the evening we went out to El Azteca for supper where I even got fried ice cream! YUM! When we got home, we ate this Holy Cow Cake that Cindy made.  It was so delicious.  Cindy showered me with gifts- a fun summer basket with a new beach towel, sunscreen, nail polish and things like that.  She also got me a big planter for the front of our house and perhaps the best part of all is she's going to fill it with flowers for me once they come out.  Woo hoo!!!

Thanks, Pattersons for making it such a fun day!!!

We let Kylee pick the color and the design.  How cute are our matching toes?!